Author: Randy Slovacek

LGBT candidates and causes scored huge wins in yesterday’s elections.

>>> Liz Mathis beat Cindy Golding in Iowa’s special election holding off what might have been a legislative threat to marriage equality in the state, and keeping Democrats in control of the Senate. This is a HUGE loss for NOM and other anti-gay groups, which poured money into the state to defeat Mathis and used hideous robocalls at the last minute.

Iowa Independent: “Liz Mathis, 43, won a clear victory in a special election Tuesday by 55.8 percent support, according to the Linn County Auditor’s Office. Cindy Golding, her Republican opponent garnered 43.52 percent support.”

>>> Adam Ebbin has been elected to the Virginia state senate, and is its first openly gay senator: “Ebbin defeated Republican challenger and political newcomer Timothy McGhee by a margin of 64 percent to 35 percent. He ran in a district with a solid Democratic majority that includes parts of Alexandria, Arlington and Fairfax counties.”

>>> Houston Mayor Annise Parker was re-elected by enough of a margin that she has avoided a run-off.

>>> Largo, Fla., City Commission: Michael Smith defeated Mary Gray Black, who has a history of anti-gay and anti-trans activism on the commission.

>>> Charlotte, North Carolina elected its first openly gay city council member: “LaWana Mayfield won her seat Tuesday as part of a Democratic wave in North Carolina’s largest city. In addition to holding the mayor’s office, Democrats increased their margin on the city council, now holding 9 of 11 seats.”

More in North Carolina: “Openly gay Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt won his re-election bid with 78 percent of the vote, beating challengers Tim Sookram and Kevin Wolff. Openly gay 22-year-old and recent University of North Carolina grad Lee Storrow won his race for a seat on the Chapel Hill Town Council. He garnered 15.78 percent of the vote, coming in third in a four-way race. Storrow is the youngest member to serve on the council in 20 years. In nearby Carrboro, incumbent Alderwoman Lydia Lavelle was also victorious. She’ll serve another term on that town’s council, capturing 29.84 percent of the vote.”

>>> Alex Morse, a 22-year-old, beat 67-year-old inclumbent Mary Pluta in Holyoke, Massachusetts to become the nation’s youngest mayor. “Alex is a force of nature, and proof that young LGBT Americans are determined to live authentic lives as they build their careers. We’re incredibly proud of the campaign he ran,” said Chuck Wolfe, president and CEO of the Victory Fund.

>>> Maywood, NJ’s Mayor Tim Eustace won his Assembly race, “becoming the first openly gay non-incumbent to win a seat in the legislature.

>>> Chris Seelbach is the first openly gay city council member elected in Cincinnati.

>>> Pedro Segarra easily retains his post as mayor of Hartford, Connecticut.

>>> Zach Adamson is now the city’s first openly gay City Council member in Indianapolis.

>>> Caitlin Copple has won election in Missoula, Montana: She is the first openly gay councilmember that has been elected to the Missoula City Council.

>>> Traverse City, Michigan overwhelmingly supported an ordinance that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation.

>>> Maine retained same-day voter registration despite hideous ugly anti-gay tactics by Republicans.

>>> Mississippi’s “personhood amendment failed at the polls: “Mississippi voters Tuesday defeated a ballot initiative that would’ve declared life begins at fertilization, a proposal that supporters sought in the Bible Belt state as a way to prompt a legal challenge to abortion rights nationwide. The so-called ‘personhood’ initiative was rejected by more than 55 percent of voters.

>>> In Ohio, voters overturned a significant anti-union law in a referendum: “The results could help reverse the momentum of Republicans who used last year’s huge electoral gains to pass extreme measures favored by the party’s right wing, said Paul Beck, a political science professor at Ohio University.”

>>> Appointed San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee holds a commanding lead over his other opponents, which included City Attorney Dennis Herrera and openly gay former Supervisor Bevan Dufty.